Cape Town – The pupils from the Sans Souci Girls High School in Claremont, Cape Town, on Friday handed over a memorandum to the school’s management on their feelings and shared their experiences of racism in the school.
The memorandum was written by various students sharing that they had gone through and was directed to members of the school governing body, Charmain Murray, and Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer.
“When I was in grade nine, a teacher said something so offensive. She gossiped about me in Afrikaans thinking that I couldn’t hear a word she was saying,” the pupil wrote in the memorandum.
“She claimed the reason why the teacher who stood beside me was keeping her distance is because I had Ebola.”
Another student said one of the teachers at the school used her for an experiment.
“I remember one or two years ago when a teacher did a hair test by pulling my hair down to see if reaches my collar,” she wrote.
The pupils demanded that Murray to step down, saying: “We have been berated by you and marginalised by you, we ask you to step aside”.
“You have enforced upon us the kind of structural violence that requires healing of the soul. You have been the gatekeeper of the school’s oppression, executing policies that define our identities within a construct of whiteness. You made us suffer for a few, ordered us in our own land.”
Responding to the claims, Western Cape education department spokesperson, Jessica Shelver said investigations into the racism allegations continued.
“Any allegations of racism and discrimination are taken very seriously by the department. When we became aware of the Sans Souci Girls High School matter, our officials immediately went to the school to investigate. This investigation is continuing,” she said.
African News Agency